- Barrier-breaking actress, Cicely Tyson died at 96 on January 28.
- Tyson, whose career spanned nine decades, recently published her memoir Just as I Am. When asked by Gayle King on CBS This Morning earlier this week what she wanted people to remember about her, she said: “I’ve done my best.”
- In a tribute on social media, Oprah reacted to Tyson's passing. "Her life so fully lived is a testimony to Greatness."
Pioneering star of stage, film, and television, Cicely Tyson died on January 28 at 96 years old. “I have managed Miss Tyson’s career for over 40 years, and each year was a privilege and blessing,” the Emmy and Tony-winning actress's manager, Larry Thompson, said in a statement. “Cicely thought of her new memoir as a Christmas tree decorated with all the ornaments of her personal and professional life. Today she placed the last ornament, a Star, on top of the tree.”
Tyson, whose breakout role was in Odds Against Tomorrow alongside Sidney Poitier in 1959, later went onto receive her first Oscar nomination for Sounder in 1972. Over the span of her nine decade career, she had other memorable parts in Roots and Fried Green Tomatoes, to name just a few.
Tyson was awarded an honorary Oscar in 2018 at 93.
However, it was perhaps her television work that she was most famous for—particularly 1974's The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. Tyson purposefully abstained from the popular "blaxploitation" era movies of the '70s that often perpetuated negative Black stereotypes, turning down roles that she deemed belittling to Black people. In one of her last interviews, she told Gayle King on CBS This Morning that she decided early on, "I could not afford the luxury of just being an actress, and I would use my career as my platform."
Upon hearing of the passing of her friend, Oprah posted a moving tribute on Instagram to Cicely Tyson on social media.
"Of all the times and experiences we shared together, this was one of my favorites: The weekend of the Legends Ball in 2005. The idea for the ball originated because I wanted to celebrate HER, and other remarkable Black women who carved a path and built a bridge for me and generations to follow. What a joy to honor her and feel her receive it! I loved her hat so much, she sent it to me afterwards.
Cicely decided early on that her work as an actor would be more than a job. She used her career to illuminate the humanity of Black people. The roles she played reflected her values; she never compromised. Her life so fully lived is a testimony to Greatness."
The barrier-breaking actress, who was once married to jazz musician Miles Davis, published a memoir, Just As I am, two days before her death. In it, the Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient wrote in the introduction that she wanted to share “how my tree, my story, first sprung into existence. How its roots, stretching far beneath the soil, have nourished and anchored me.”
At the end of their interview, when Gayle asked Tyson what people truly need in life, Gayle said that "answering as a Black woman," Tyson shared the basic fundamentals are "cayenne pepper, a stash of cash, and a quiet place."
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Brie Schwartz is an editor, writer, and content strategist. She’s covered beauty, fashion, relationships, health, travel, Disney, decorating, DIYs, food, booze, and everything in between. She was most recently the deputy editor of Oprah Daily, where she helped bring the mission of guiding readers to live their best life to the (virtual) pages. Her writing has appeared in Good Housekeeping, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Delish, Country Living, Esquire, Elle, Marie Claire, Seventeen, The Spruce, Woman’s Day, Women’s Health, and Men’s Health.
